Wilbanks’ Fiancee Defends His Runaway Bride

In an interview with the Fox News "Hannity and Colmes" show on Friday, the jilted fiancé of the infamous runaway bride told the public that he still hopes to marry her. John Mason is still engaged to Jennifer Wilbanks, the bride-to-be who vanished just days before their wedding ceremony, prompting a massive search around her home by hundreds of police officers and volunteers, including family members. Police have now suggested that this may not be the first time she has left a potential groom at the altar.

Wilbanks, 32, is the bride-to-be who vanished without a trace during an evening jog from the suburban Atlanta home she shared with her fiancé. Police say she cut her hair, took a taxi to Atlanta, then boarded a Greyhous bus for Austin, Texas. She apparently changed her mind enroute and got off in Dallas, boarded a bus to Las Vegas, and then another to Albuquerque, where she eventually turned up when she dialed 911 and told an elaborate story of being abducted by a mysterious couple in a blue van. As reported by thousands of media outlets over the last few days, the story was quickly unraveled by police, and Wilbanks admitted that she had made it up to explain her sudden disappearance. The true story was that she was running away from fears and anxieties about her lavish and expensive upcoming wedding.

Although Mason says he’s ready to marry Wilbanks anyway despite her antics of the past week, the groom’s father, Claude Mason, said he wants his son to "take it slow" in deciding how he wants to pursue continuing his relationship with Wilbanks. He also said that if his son decides to go ahead with the wedding in spite of his bride jilting him, the family will support his decision all the way to the altar. But although Mason and his family might be willing to forgive Wilbanks, authorities and city officials in Duluth might not be so sympathetic toward her selfish and self-centered escapade. Gwinnet County District Attorney Danny Porter is still deciding whether to bring criminal charges against her, and the mayor’s office is looking into the possibility of suing her for the approximate cost of searching for her, which is estimated at between $40,000 and $60,000. The mayor of Duluth said the city feels "betrayed."

Wilbanks is still undergoing questioning and investigation to determine whether or not charges against her will be filed. An agent with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation reported that when he interviewed her on Monday, she was wearing her engagement ring. He added that she cried and seemed repentant for her actions, but she did not directly apologize. The jilted groom said in Friday’s interview that he still hopes to marry Wilbanks, and that the guilt she is now dealing with "has got to be enough consequence" for her actions. He said his bride-to-be wants everyone to know that "she’s very, very sorry." Probably not as sorry as the heartsick folks who scoured alleys and crawled through storm drains hoping against hope not to find her dead body.